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Looking for something to do? Add these Cincinnati African American events to your calendar.
Black Cincinnatians can routinely and affordably enjoy the performing arts, fine arts, entertainers, religious services, professional development training and program initiatives that help us improve our physical and mental health. We are also very fortunate that nationally-known African-American artists routinely display their talents right here in the Queen City.
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When purchasing your tickets, be sure to ask about any special deals, discount options, community performances or same-day options. The information in this article is as current as of the publication date. Readers are encouraged to confirm the information prior to acting.
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Check Out Our Featured Event
Free Pictures with Black Santa
Cincinnati Art Museum
December 14
Free Entry
Black Santa Claus will be greeting children of all ages and taking FREE pictures by the tree. These pictures will be great for your holiday card this year or next year. The event is from 1 p.m. – 4:30 p.m.
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Robert Colescott: Arts and Race Exhibit
Contemporary Arts Center
September 20 – January 12, 2020
The Art and Race Matters exhibition will reveal 85 total works throughout 53 years of Robert Colescott career that both bring to the surface and challenge diversity and racial stereotypes. Entry is FREE.
Sohrab Hura Exhibit
Cincinnati Art Museum
October 5 – February 2, 2020
Contemporary Indian photographer Sohrab Hura reveals his first solo museum exhibition titled The Levee: A Photographer in the American South. It’s an 83-picture suite, in which Hura explores themes of connection, perspective, and place.
B. Simone: Looking for a Boyfriend Tour
Liberty Funny Bone
December 10
You’ve seen her alongside Nick Cannon, DC Young Fly and more on Wildin’ Out. She has also toured with Desi Banks, Vena “Pretty Vee” and partied with Lil’ Kim on VH1’s Girl’s Cruise. Tickets start at $30. The show starts at 7 p.m.
Black Nativity The Musical
Word of Deliverance Church
December 13 & 14
Adapted from Langston Hughes, watch the true meaning of Christmas come to light with inspirational music and dance. Tickets start at $20. Check performance schedule for show times.
Will Downing Concert
National Underground Railroad Freedom Center
December 14
The Prince of Sophisticated Soul returns! On this night you will hear Mr. Downing’s classic catalog and material from his new release Romantique Part 1. Tickets start at $65. The concert begins at 7:30 p.m.
Awaited Musical
Aronoff Center
December 20 – 23
Awaited is the creative retelling of the Christmas story brought to life on stage by over 80 performers. Featuring original choreography and music, along with favorite holiday classics. Ticket prices range from $25 – $100.
The Lion King Broadway Musical
Aronoff Center
January 8 – February 2, 2020
Giraffes strut. Birds swoop. Gazelles leap. The entire Serengeti comes to life as never before. And as the music soars, Pride Rock slowly emerges from the mist. Tickets for Disney’s The Lion King performance will be available soon.
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Aretha: The Queen of Soul Cincinnati Tribute
Aronoff Center
January 17, 2020
‘All Hail the Queen!’ Aretha Franklin’s iconic career spanned six decades, inspiring and influencing generations of aspiring musicians and vocalists. This production stars the immensely talented Charity Lockhart, accompanied by spectacular vocalists and musicians as they celebrate the legendary life & music of Aretha Franklin. Tickets are $37.75 – $51.75. The concert starts at 7:30 p.m.
Yolo: Walk Through Fire World Tour
Taft Theatre
January 21, 2020
She sings what you would call country soul. Her ability to fill a room with her boisterous, yet subtle voice is nothing short of amazing. The Yola Cincinnati concert will feature special guest Amythyst Kiah. Tickets are $20 – $25. The concert starts at 8 p.m.
Contemporary Dance Theater presents Ronald K. Brown: Evidence
Aronoff Center
January 24 – 25
This performance will include music from Duke Ellington, Roy Davis, Jr. and more! Tickets start at $25. Performances on both days will begin at 8 p.m.
Rickey Smiley Comedy Show
Liberty Funny Bone
January 24 – 25
Don’t miss comedian, television host, and top-rated nationally syndicated radio personality Rickey Smiley! Tickets start at $40. Check listing for show schedule.
All The Way Play
Cincinnati Shakespeare Company
January 24, 2020 – February 15, 2020
Faced with civil unrest at home and an unpopular war abroad, accidental president Lyndon B. Johnson struggles at the eleventh hour to get the hotly contested Civil Rights Act across the finish line and keep an already divided country from tearing itself apart. Ticket start at $28.
Blues For An Alabama Sky Play
Falcon Theatre
January 2
4, 2020 – February 8, 2020
It’s the summer of 1930 in Harlem, New York. The creative euphoria of the Harlem Renaissance has given way to the harsher realities of the Great Depression. Tickets for this event are $15 – $25.
Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra Proof: Singulis Et Stimul
Music Hall
January 29, 2020
Singulis Et Simul simply means “Be oneself, together”. The show is a celebration of femininity in the African American transgender community, with roots dating back to the Harlem Renaissance. Tickets are a$33.82. The show starts at 7:30 p.m.
Cincinnati Pops Presents Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue
Music Hall
January 31 – February 2 (2020)
Celebrated jazz pianist Marcus Roberts makes his Cincinnati Pops debut with John Morris Russell conducting a new take on Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue with a jazz combo. The program also includes such Gershwin classics as An American in Paris, the Cuban Overture and selections from Porgy and Bess. Tickets prices range from $25 – $130.
Remember James The Musical
The Carnegie Theatre
February 1, 2020
This musical stars Broadway World Awards Nominee Dedrick Weathersby, tells the story of “The Godfather of Soul”, James Brown at the start of Mr. Brown’s career in 1951. There are two performance times. Tickets are $29 – $58.
AmericUS by Universes Play
Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park
February 1 – March 8 (2020)
Fusing theatre, poetry, dance, jazz, hip-hop and down-home blues, Universes will create a compelling portrait of contemporary America. Ticket prices range from $10 – $50.
Daddy Daughter Dinner Dance
Duke Energy Convention Center
February 8
Walk the red carpet into a special evening of dinner, dancing, a keepsake professional daddy-daughter photo, prizes and more! Tots to teens and all ages are invited. Tickets are $15. The event starts at 6 p.m.
Comedy Laugh Fest Tour
Cintas Center
February 15
Get your tickets now to see comedic heavy-hitters Cedric the Entertainer, D.L. Hughley, Deon Cole, Earthquake and Nephew Tommy! Tickets start at $49. The shop starts at 8 p.m.
Cincinnati Pops Featuring Ledisi
Music Hall
February 18 (2020)
In her Cincinnati Pops debut, nine-time Grammy nominee Ledisi offers her “amazing vocal gift” (Rolling Stone) to honor the “High Priestess of Soul,” the late Nina Simone. John Morris Russell conducts iconic songs including “Feeling Good,” “I Put a Spell on You,” and “Young, Gifted and Black” in this one-night-only concert experience. Tickets are $25 and can be purchased online. The concert starts at 7 p.m.
Negro Melodies of American Concert
Alice F. and Harris K. Weston Art Gallery
February 27
Pianist Dr. Leah Claiborne will perform piano works by black composers who use arrangements of Negro Melodies, or “Spirituals,” in their compositions. This event is FREE. The concert starts at 7 p.m.
Festival of Laughs
U.S. Bank Arena
February 29, 2020
Comedian heavyweights Sommore, Gary Owen, Mark Curry, Tommy Davidson, and Michael Blackson are set to hit the stage with their sharp wit, unbridled humor and hysterical storytelling. Ticket prices range from $49 – $129. The show starts at 8 p.m.
The Prince Experience
Bogart’s
March 6
Gabriel Sanchez and his band are coming back to the Queen City to celebrate the late music icon’s career. Get ready to party like it’s 1999! Tickets are $16. The concert starts at 9 p.m.
The Agitators Play
Falcon Theatre
March 20, 2020 – April 4, 2020
A riveting story about the friendship that persisted through the years between Susan B. Anthony and Frederick Douglass as both fought tirelessly for the rights of others. Tickets are $25.
Dada Rafiki: Conversations
Aronoff Center
May 8
Encounter a multi-sensory artistic experience of theater, dance, storytelling, music, and spoken word, honoring the legacy and impact of women. This year’s theme promotes a universal message of hope, health, and healing for Greater Cincinnati. The show starts at 7 p.m.
Trevor Noah – Loud & Clear Comedy Stand-Up
Aronoff Center
May 9
Trevor Noah is the host of the Emmy® and Peabody® Award-winning ‘The Daily Show’ on Comedy Central. Listen to him talk about his upbringing in South African upbringing, politics and more! Ticket prices range from $45 – $99.50. The show starts at 7 p.m.
MUSE Cincinnati Women’s Choir Concert
Memorial Hall
May 30
For 37 years, the MUSE Cincinnati Women’s Choir has stood strong in its commitment to social justice, musical excellence. This season is no exception, as they dedicate their upcoming spring concert to uplifting and speaking life and power to ALL women. Tickets start at $10.
Cincinnati Juneteenth Festival
Eden Park
June 20 – 21
The festival is free and will feature diverse, family-
Castor and Patience Cincinnati Opera
School for Creative and Performing Arts
July 16 – 26, 2020
The world premiere opera of Castor and Patience centers on two members of an African American family who find themselves at odds over the fate of a historic parcel of land they have inherited in the American South.
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The Voice of Black Cincinnati is a media company designed to educate, recognize and create opportunities for African Americans. Want to find local news, events, job posting, scholarships and a database of local Black-owned businesses? Visit our homepage, explore other articles, subscribe to our newsletter, like our Facebook page, join our Facebook group and text VOBC to 797979.
Marissa Staples, Writer
The Voice of Black Cincinnati
Things are changing in Cincinnati. Though I have a high regard for the Cincinnati Herald, “NOW” we also have as a Black media outlet ” The Voice of Black Cincinnati”!
How nice it is to have information on such a wide diversity of events for the African-American please keep publishing this.
I love this website I have a variety of things that I can do and support my people. Thank You
Highlighting the positive flow of black energy through our communities unleashes the music found in the soul!!
I salute the Voice!!!
Great informative website, just what we need. Thank you
I deeply appreciate this media for many reasons, the most important being that it makes a serious attempt to have communication that is relevant to me. The community of Cincinnati is not eclectic in its inclusion of the African American voice; even though we make up approximately 42 precent of the population we have very little choice as ir relates choices of media that connects to our concerns. I thank this publications creators for the refreshing change. Thank you.
Kudos. Well done and thanks for being a presence in Cincinnati.
Thank you for this compliment. We hope you will follow us on Facebook and subscribe to our newsletter!
I live in Dayton and Im so glad to find out about the Voice.
Thank you. We hope you enjoy your time in Cincinnati!
It’s wonderful to have events that spotlight the wonderful gifts, talents, and abilities of my ethnic group. Please continue your amazing work.